I remember when they installed the new vertical in the late 50’s. Traffic really stopped on Steinway street. As far as it being more economical, per a prior posting, it was large, even tho it only said LOEWS. The letters were five or more neon lights in depth and could be illumated one at a time (top to bottom) or all together.

I do not believe that this building (32-62) was ever anything else but retail. It was a toy store named Valco’s from (at least) the 60’s/ early 70’s to 1991 when it closed. I used to work here as a teenager and the first and second floors (second used as storage) appeared original, with old wood plank floors and pressed tin ceilings. Also there were no rear or side fire exits.

There was a small movie theatre on Steinway near 34th Avenue
in ancient times that is now a Lucille Roberts Gym. This theatre
I remember as a child showed Saturday serials, B movies and as
I recall my Italian uncle had said he saw the first viewing
of Rosselini’s Open City.
Is there any documentation of this
early Astoria landmark?
Quizzically,
Giuseppe

Thank you astrocks!! Ed Solero said i could find all theatres here, but i didn’t find the Olympia. It was located on the west side of the street i believe. I can visualize the pink neon “Olympia” sign, in script. I don’t remember the Cameo at all tho.

All those theatres are listed on this site, alexandi. You may want to track them down and post any memories you wish to share. At the top left of this page, there is a Search button. If you click the selection for “theaters” and then click the Search button, a page will open where you can enter “Astoria” and search “by City.” A list of all the movie theatres filed on Cinema Treasures as having existed (or as currently existing) in Astoria will open up.

The Olympia Theatre showed dirty movies. I don’t remember where it was.
The Strand was located on the north side of Broadway just past Crescent St. It later became a lower level bowling alley. It might still be.
There was a theatre under the L on 31st St. between Ditmars & 23rd Ave., approx. where McDonald’s is now, that showed Greek movies in my childhood.
The Astoria Theatre on 30th Ave. & Steinway St. was ok, not very well kept. But Loew’s down the block on 28th Ave. was spectacular and grandiose. I must have been around 12 yrs old when they tore it down, and even then I thought why on earth, with the twinkling ceiling and ornate balconies and all?? If they had to tear one down, it should’ve been the Astoria.

The Olympia Theatre showed dirty movies. I don’t remember where it was.
The Strand was located on the north side of Broadway just past Crescent St. It later became a lower level bowling alley. It might still be.
There was a theatre under the L on 31st St. between Ditmars & 23rd Ave., approx. where McDonald’s is now, that showed Greek movies in my childhood.
The Astoria Theatre on 30th Ave. & Steinway St. was ok, not very well kept. But Loew’s down the block on 28th Ave. was spectacular and grandiose. I must have been around 12 yrs old when they tore it down, and even then I thought why on earth, with the twinkling ceiling and ornate balconies and all?? If they had to tear one down, it should’ve been the Astoria.

I only visited this movie palace on one occasion – it was on April 8, 1970. I was going to college at the time and drove up with my parents from Greenpoint on a non-school weekday to see “The Prime of Miss Jeanne Brodie” Maggie Smith had just won the best actress award for the role, and we wanted to check it out.

I guess in the rush to get our tickets, I did not pay much attention to the outstanding exterior, which I certainly now regret. The interior was another thing, and it really overwhelmed me. I had never seen anything so opulent in a movie theater – especially one situated away from Manhattan. The fact that the Triboro had not been separated into a multi-screen complex enabled me to experience its full, originally intended, grandeur. The fact that the place was nearly empty gave me a sense that this situation would not continue to last for long.

As was common at the time, we entered the theater after the performance had begun, and my parents then watched the portion we had missed before leaving. Since I really enjoyed the movie – and the ambiance of the house – I stayed to see the entire show until the end. While Smith was terrific, I remember being particularly impressed with the performance of Pamela Franklin, who played Miss Brodie’s “assassin”. The scene between the two near the end was particularly compelling and was something I did wish to view again. (At the time, I really thought that Ms. Franklin would enjoy an outstanding cinematic career. Unfortunately, it quickly petered out in the wake of several awful movie and forgettable TV roles.)

After finally leaving, I walked back to the nearest “G” train station and passed a news stand. Reading the headline of the NY Post, which was then an afternoon paper that was as stridently liberal as it is now relentlessly conservative, I learned that Harrold Carrswell’s nomination to the the Supreme Court had surprisingly been rejected by the Senate. (As a Political Science major, I was particularly interested in this issue – and elated by the result.) This is why I can reference my visit to this exact date.

Several years later, I found myself on Steinway St. and decided to check out the Triboro. Walking up from the subway station, I noticed that the huge sign announcing the “Loew’s Triboro” was not there. After passing a small development of newly constructed apartments and still finding no Triboro, I was forced to conclude that I had just walked by the old movie theater. While I was – and remain – saddened that the Triboro is history, I will always fondly remember my one visit to it.

I was a child when bomb exploded in the Triboro, but I seem to remember a Daily News headline that claimed it was the work of The Mad Bomber who set explosives in several NYC theaters. From the CO2 cartridge description, however, that would not have been true.

I grew up on 42nd Street near 28th Avenue and could see the Triboro from my window. My dad told me that the Hellman’s mayonnaise was made there, but if I remember correctly he said the Hellmans had a deli there and the mayonnaise was just one product, though it later became their main product. He also told me that before the enclosed movie theaters were built on Steinway, there were several open-air “theaters” that showed movies. One I believe he said was on the west side of Steinway at the intersection of 25th Avenue (across from where the Cameo/Olympia was built).

I recall in the early 40’s that the Triboro and the Valencia had far smaller screens than the type described in the article above. Was there a shortage of carbon during WW2 and did that have any effect on screen size? The screens had rounded corners.

Great photo Warren, brings back memories of how I remembered the theater. I recall this theater and the RKO Keith were the only ones where I used to prefer to sit in the balcony section to see the features so I could admire the architectural reliefs on the walls and ceiling.

One the Steinway Street side (the front) there is a row of stores with two stories of apartments above. One the back side (38th street) is a row of two family homes. Today the tought of tearing down the Loews Triboro for something so mundane and ordinary boggles the mind.